An In-depth Look at Family Planning Services

Humanitarian organizations must prioritize the sexual and reproductive health needs of displaced adolescents at the earliest opportunity in a crisis to protect young people from sexual violence, sexually transmitted diseases and early pregnancy.

This joint report catalogs the results of a year-long study to map adolescent sexual and reproductive health programmes in areas affected by conflict, documents good practices, and provides recommendations to improve access to quality reproductive health care for adolescents in humanitarian settings.

Despite growing awareness of the need for adolescent sexual and reproductive health programmes in humanitarian settings, the study found significant gaps in programming, including access to family planning. The encouraging news is that the mapping exercise also identified emerging good practices that can guide an expanded and scaled up response.

The report recommends that governments, donors and humanitarian and development organizations effectively address the sexual and reproductive health risks for adolescents in crisis situations by scaling up services in emergencies and investing in this area.

Investing in adolescent sexual and reproductive health from the onset of an emergency can reduce maternal mortality, mitigate vulnerability to unwanted pregnancy, and improve health and development outcomes.

Related Publications

Girlhood, Not Motherhood
When a girl becomes pregnant, her present and future change radically, and rarely for the better. Pregnancy before a girl is physically, developmentally and socially ready jeopardizes her right to a safe, successful...